Skirmish at Crane Manor
The Skirmish at Crane Manor was a minor confrontation that took place over three weeks between the Val'kyr and the Witches of Harrow's Woods. History Prelude Wanting closure to the abuse she'd suffered at the hands of her mother, Elethyn Crane brought her wife Ascentia Crane to Crane Manor in Harrow's Woods to confront her mother. Levana Crane was surprised to see her daughter, but wasted no time in belittling her once again. Elethyn, determined to bite back, announced that she was a Lord of the Val'kyr and Levana became considerably more diplomatic in the hopes to secure a powerful ally. However, as the two continued to talk it became clear to Levana that not only did Ascentia have no powers, but that Elethyn had not informed anybody that they were there. Seeing an opportunity to snare her daughter again she ordered her witches to attack. Elethyn found back, but Ascentia's weaknesses proved to be a liability as they focused on her. The two were eventually subdued and Levana ordered that Ascentia be executed. Elethyn desperately screamed at her mother not to do this, upon which Levana learned that Ascentia was Elethyn's wife. Levana obliged, but instead locked Elethyn in the dungeon while keeping Ascentia in the throne room to "talk." Ascentia was sexually violated repeatedly by the guards specifically to spite and hurt Elethyn after seeing how protective of Ascentia she was. Six hours later, Ascentia was brought to the dungeons and locked far enough away from Elethyn that they couldn't reach each other. This continued for three weeks as Levana repeatedly violated Ascentia and tormented Elethyn by blaming her. Skirmish Lord Ryder arrived in Harrow's Woods with Sutanu, as they had been conducting a search for Elethyn and Ascentia for two weeks and were checking all possible locations. Sutanu detected Elethyn in the dungeons and Ascentia in the throne room of Crane Manor. Discovering what Levana Crane was doing to her, Ryder and Sutanu broke down the front door and fought their way through the throne room, confronting and severely wounding Levana and retrieving both Elethyn and Ascentia. The Witches were spared eradication at Elethyn's request. Aftermath After their return to the Capital, Elethyn was subjected to a disciplinary hearing. Megan and Tolrah saw fit to lay blame for their capture and Ascentia's torture on Elethyn, claiming that Elethyn's ego during the confrontation with Levana destabilized the conversation. Meanwhile Sutanu, Phyaun and Ascentia herself disagreed emphatically, claiming that Elethyn couldn't possibly know the depths her mother would sink to after being away for so long and that she was not responsible for her mother's sadistic actions. Lord Ryder agreed with the defense, but also argued that Elethyn had foolishly not told anybody where they were going, especially when considering Ascentia's condition. Elethyn was charged with reckless endangerment of herself and Ascentia, and negligence resulting in the severe harm of another. She was demoted from Lord to Warrior. Elethyn briefly considered ending her marriage to Ascentia out of guilt for getting her so severely hurt, but abandoned this idea when she first returned home and Ascentia desperately sought her out for comfort after being denied it for almost a month. Elethyn asked for Ascentia's forgiveness, which she received almost immediately. Trivia *Levana Crane is another character from Dark Magic, a fantasy novel by Lizzy Orchard. Like Elethyn, she is altered in certain ways in Tale of the Valkyrie to avoid spoilers. Category:Conflicts